School candidates take the heat during forum

Thursday

Mar 27, 2008 at 12:01 AM

By CINDY DOW

By CINDY DOW

Associate Editor

MIDDLEBORO — Candidates at The Gazette and Council on Aging sponsored Middleboro Candidates' Night spoke to a packed house last week, with audience members addressing the majority of questions to candidates for the School Committee and Board of Selectmen.

Three candidates for two seats on the School Committee included incumbents Joseph Masi and Paul Hilton, as well as Roger Haber, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the board last year.

Mr. Haber, who is the pastor of the Central Baptist Church, noted that he has a teaching degree, and has been a substitute teacher in the Middleboro schools.

"People say why do you substitute, do you need the money? Not really, I'm very well compensated. I substituted here in Middleboro to find a way to connect with people and get to know them as a relatively newcomer," he said. "It is great to have been able to do that."

Mr. Haber said he would bring fresh eyes to look at things in light of the limited resources available to the schools.

Mr. Masi is seeking his sixth term on the committee. He suggested that instead of looking for a fresh view, it would be important to look for someone with a background and history. He said he believes the most important issue for a good education is class size.

"I consider my background a very valuable asset, I hope you consider the same," he said.

Mr. Hilton is running for his third term on the committee. He said he spends his entire work week as well as his free time working on school finances. He believes the town is at a critical juncture with the schools financially.

"We can fail at a lot of things, but if we fail our children it affects the town forever," he said.

The candidates spent the next 20 minutes handling a barrage of questions regarding the situation of the seven-year-old boy taken into DSS custody last week.

"It's hard to understand, frankly, because if the average citizen saw a child being abused in a public place, that citizen wouldn't call DSS, they'd call the police," Neil Rosenthal said. "DSS has long been known to drop the ball, but this child is our child. He goes to our schools. Frankly, this demonstrates in my mind institutional inertia, and speaks to callousness, ignorance, and stupidity on the part of some school official...I'd like the school committee candidates to comment on this, particularly the ones who've been in power — how could we have a protocol that at no point in time involves the police in a dangerous, criminal scenario involving one of our children?"

Mr. Hilton said he believed the first concern was the safety of the child in question, then stated that procedural breakdowns had not been confirmed and needed to be looked into, and the school committee had not had a chance to do that.

"If we have a breakdown, it's something that we need to assess and address," Mr. Hilton said.

Mr. Masi said committee members had been told to refer questions to DSS, but noted generally that until something happens where there is a breakdown, sometimes officials are not aware that following the letter of the law may not meet the intent to follow the spirit of the law. He said he believes the school will be able to get through the situation as best possible and be able to prevent it from happening again.

Mr. Haber acknowledged that he was not a current member, but wanted to comment that he was glad that Superintendent Robert Sullivan was going to look into finding a way to revise the procedure so that it better protects the children.

Six of the seven candidates vying for two seats on the Board of Selectmen attended the forum, including incumbent Marsha Brunelle, Greg Stevens, Jessie Powell, Michael O'Shaughnessy, Ted Eayrs, and Muriel "Mimi" Duphilly. Candidate Thomas Murphy was unable to attend the forum.

Mr. Stevens acknowledged his involvement with CasinoFacts.org and his opposition to the casino.

"Some of you may feel that disqualifies me from being selectman. I disagree. I think it's important that the Board of Selectmen represent a wide range of views, and I represent a view which is currently not held on the board," Mr. Stevens said.

He suggested that even proponents of the casino might want a critic willing to look closely at the proceedings so that everything moves fairly.

Ms. Powell said she blames the town's fiscal problems on poor historical decisions such as missing opportunities and opposing clean businesses coming to town, or mailing bills out late and ignoring Department of Revenue recommendations.

"You might not label 'spending money wisely' and 'getting the biggest bang for your buck' as revenue, and it's not exciting, but the results are the same," she said.

Mr. O'Shaughnessy said that while some candidates are for a casino, and some are against it, but he is neither.

"I'm very neutral on the subject. If a casino comes, it comes, and we'll deal with it. If it doesn't come, we need to plan, and deal with it," he said.

Mr. Eayrs said he advocates change in the way that the board does business.

"The current board, in my estimation, has lost sight of the fact that citizen involvement is absolutely vital and essential to all matters of public policy," Mr. Eayrs said. "To appear before, or to watch board meetings these days, one gets the feeling that the public really shouldn't even bother to show up."

Mr. Eayrs said he has served on the board in the past, and it was a humbling experience, but by listening to opinions that were different from his, his opinions were guided and modified.

Ms. Duphilly said she believes that as a business owner, parent, and farm owner, she has a good understanding of what other residents in town face. She believes the town needs to tap into the resources the people of Oak Point offer, and to focus on renovating downtown.

"I am not a one-issue candidate, I am in this because there is so much going on," she said. "I want our town to go forward into prosperity, but along the way I want them to be remembering and respecting the past and who we are."

Ms. Brunelle said she has demonstrated her dedication to the town over the past 25 years of volunteering on the town's Finance Committee, School Committee, Council on Aging, and most recently the Board of Selectmen.

"We do take suggestions; we do take constructive criticism in trying to better communicate. Doing so we may not address every issue, but we endeavor to do that," Ms. Brunelle said.

Each of the candidates said they would abide by the agreement with the Indians for the casino; Mr. Eayrs noted that he believed the agreement does not alleviate the town's responsibility to ensure the agreement is enforced to the benefit of the town.

Other questions focused on finances, including what ideas the candidates had for bringing in new revenue, attracting more businesses to town, and whether they would support services such as the Council on Aging, park department and library.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.